One of the issues with burning higher blends of biodiesel in newer diesel engines that use post-injection for controlling emissions is significant engine wear with methyl ester dilution in the engine oil crankcase. This story from Biodiesel Magazine says Chevron Oronite Company LLC has developed a unique engine oil additive to help combat that engine wear when using B20: Fuel …
Gentlemen, Start Your Biodiesel Engines!
It’s not quite the Indy 500, but don’t tell that to the guys racing in the New Holland Celebrity Tractor Race! It’s the fourth year for the popular feature of the Country Music Association’s 2009 Music Festival, June 10-14, 2009 in Nashville, TN., and some of the participants are looking for revenge. The race (which you can see some of …
Wind Energy Industry Lobbies for Higher Mandate
Last year was a big year for growth in the American wind energy field, as the U.S. added more than 8,300 megawatts of capacity in 2008… a record year! This article in the Des Moines (IA) Register says officials with the industry, along with a governor from a state that is really making headways in wind energy, were on Capitol …
Phoenix Airport Taxis Could Run on E85, Propane
Catching a cab at Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International Airport could soon be a greener proposition. The Arizona Republic reports that the city council has voted in a new rule that will require taxis at the airport to use one of several alternative fuels: Under the new rules taxicabs would have the choice of using compressed natural gas; liquid propane gas, …
WI’s First Commercial Biodiesel Plant Idled
Biodiesel is still having a tough go of it… just like many other businesses in today’s economy. The latest victim of the economic downturn is Sanimax Energy, which has had to temporarily close its DeForest, Wisconsin plant… the first biodiesel plant to open in the Badger State two years ago. This story in the Wisconsin Ag Connection says the refinery, …
Harkin: Indirect Land Use Rule Not Good Science
The chair of the U.S. Senate’s Ag Committee says the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed Indirect Land Use Rule, which would make biodiesel ineligible for mandates and federal subsidies, is not good science… and he believes there are enough votes in Congress to keep it from going into effect. Agriculture Online reports that the EPA’s proposal would use the concept of …
DF Cast: Global Debate on Biofuels
Biodiesel and ethanol have borne the brunt of criticism in the food versus fuel debate… being blamed, unfairly as it turns out, for the spike in food prices last year. The issue was one that came up at the recent World Ag Forum in St. Louis (see our coverage of the event over at our sister Web site, AgWired.com) that …
Hydrogen Road Tour Finishes in Vancouver
A dozen cars have just finished a West Coast road trip that saw the caravan of hydrogen-powered vehicles make the nine-day, 28-stop trip from Southern California to Vancouver in Canada. The Examiner.com reports that the Hydrogen Road Tour featured a variety of vehicles, including the Chevy Equinox FCV, the Honda FCX Clarity and two different Volkswagens… among others: So there …
Small Wind Turbine Market in US Nearly Doubled in 2008
Small wind turbines in the U.S. are growing at a very rapid rate. EnvironmentalLeader.com reports that the market for small wind turbines… those that produce 100 kilowatts or less… grew by a whopping 78 percent last year… following a trend discovered in an American Wind Energy Association study that showed there was about 17.3 megawatts of new small wind capacity …
New Jersey Biodiesel Producer to Open CT Port
In a move that could set the company up to deliver biodiesel to all of New England, New Jersey-based biodiesel maker Innovation Fuels will open operations at a Connecticut terminal this month. This story in the New Haven (CT) Register says Innovation will ship the green fuel from its plant in Newark, N.J. by barge, rail and truck to the …